This invention provides new compounds that have excellent plant fungicide activity. Some of the compounds have also demonstrated insecticidal and miticidal activity. The invention also provides compositions and combination products that contain a compound of the invention as active ingredient. Some of the combination products have shown synergistic activity against plant pathogens. The invention also provides fungicidal methods.
There is an acute need for new fungicides, because target pathogens are rapidly developing resistance to known fungicides. Widespread failure of N-substituted azole fungicides to control barley mildew was observed in 1983, and has been attributed to the development of resistance. The field performance of DMI (demethylation inhibitor) fungicides, which are now widely relied on to protect cereal crops from powdery mildew, has declined since they were introduced in the 1970's. Similarly, the pathogen population responsible for grape Botrytis, the number one disease in grapes as well as in berry crops and in tomato and cucumber greenhouse crops, has shifted to strains that are resistant to benzimidazole and dicarboximide fungicides.